Chapter 24

Emily still felt exhausted after she woke up on the jet. JJ had played her wife card and sent her to the police station to set things up. The department's receptionist had arrived to pick Emily up in her wheelchair van as Emily's had been delayed by a day. Michele Perry had severe walking problems due to a congenital muscle-skeletal disease. She needed leg splints and crutches to walk.

Emily was safely secured in the back as they took the short journey back to the station.

"Hi, my name is Michele Perry, the receptionist at the fire and police station." She introduced herself

"….[yawn]….SSA Em…..ily….."

"I know who you are, Emily Prentiss. And you are going straight to bed. You look exhausted. You can stay with me it will be much more comfortable than the hotel, trust me. I will let your wife know." Smiled the amenable woman

Michele pulled up onto her driveway and turned in her seat, and gently shook Emily to wake her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep, Michele; that was rude." A still sleepy Emily replied

Emily followed her host into her bungalow. Her front door had a ramp allowing her easy access into the wide hall.

"I future-proofed everything. I will need a power chair soon. You look exhausted to bed." She ordered and pointed Emily to her guest room

"Yes, Ma'am." Saluted Emily

With the help of her cordial host, Emily got into the bed and was asleep within seconds. Michele smiled at the sleeping agent. She pulled out her cell and phoned JJ as promised

EJ

JJ and Morgan had just talked to Wendy Michaels doctor and gotten his ok to conduct a cognitive interview with her.

JJ's answered her ringing cell

"Agent Jareau."

"Hi Jennifer, this is Michele Perry, the station receptionist. I picked Emily up in my van. She looked exhausted, so I took her to my house and put her in bed. I have invited you both to stay with me why you are here, you will be more comfortable, and my house is far nicer. Any way Emily is fast asleep, and I will meet you at the station." Michele told JJ

"Thank you, Michele. I appreciate you taking care of Emily for me. I would love to stay with you. If you need anything, just let me know. Bye."

JJ ended the call and just looked at her cell phone in quiet contemplation. She didn't realise she was crying until a passing nurse passed her a tissue to wipe her eyes. She turned her head quickly to wipe her eyes, hoping Derek hadn't seen her moment of weakness.

Morgan guided her into a vacant room and pulled her into an embrace communicating everything he needed to tell her without a single word being uttered.

"I am fine, thank you. Let's do this." Smiled JJ

The two agents entered Wendy's hospital room

"I am SSA Jennifer Jareau, and this is my partner SSA Derek Morgan. We want to ask you some questions. We ask in a different way to the police." JJ told the woman

She just nodded her agreement from her bed

"You told the police you could hear two people in your house. Think back to the one that dictated your suicide note to you. Can you smell or hear anything other than the metallic smell from the gas?" Morgan asked

They both watched as she tried recalling any small fact she might have forgotten.

"No! I am so sorry." She sighed

"Wait! He had the left-hand touching. I heard the women call him 'Pop', and I think he had a badge on his chest." She smiled after remembering something extra

"Badge? Like a fun badge, you get for doing something?" JJ asked

Wendy grabbed a piece of paper and sketched out the general shape of the badge. JJ held the drawing up for Morgan to see. It looked like police, fire dept or paramedic shield.

They both thanked her for help and walked out of the room.

EJ

"We need to run checks on the whole fire, medical and police departments. I know it's a small department, but we need to help Garcia weed out some people. You ring Garcia, and I will phone Emily quickly." Smiled JJ

Morgan had just finished talking with Hotch bringing him up to date.

"Derek, drive Now!" Shouted JJ

She entered the address into the Satnav, and Morgan turned the SUV on and sped towards the address, not knowing why. But his trust in his partner was absolute.

EJ

They arrived at the Bungalow of Michele Perry, where Emily was staying. Before Morgan could ask a question, JJ was out the door and sprinting towards the front door. JJ burst through the door, and Michele pointed to a door.

"Emily! Emily!" Shouted JJ

She entered the room slowly to see her wife crying on the bed. Her heart sank when she received a text from Emily

"Jen, I need help, bad thoughts. Help me, please."

"Jennifer, help me, please. Morgan hates me. I can't do this without him. It's hard enough battling my own body daily. I can't battle him as well. Look at what it's done to me." A sobbing Emily told her wife

JJ just laid down on the bed and pulled her onto of her body, and just hugged her as hard as she could.

"I don't hate you, Emily Prentiss. I was bang out of order confronting you like that this morning; it was very unprofessional. I should have listened to your whole brief before…. Damn Emily, I don't want to lose you, we...I came too close last time. I watched you swallow all those damn pills." The ordinarily stoic agent had tears streaming down his face. "I thought this case was wrong for your first one back with us. I was selfish. I didn't want to risk you."

Emily stretched her hand out and invited him onto the bed so she could hug him

"Thank you, Derek, I couldn't manage without your support…" she fell asleep emotionally drained

JJ waited for a while to make sure Emily was fast asleep and walked out to find morgan. She found Morgan talking to Hotch and Rossi in the back garden, drinking lemonade.

"Derek, could I talk to you over here, please," JJ asked politely

He nodded and followed her away from the patio table. JJ turned around and punched him hard against his jaw. The shocked Morgan staggered back and looked at JJ.

"I warned you all, look at what you did, Derek Morgan. I will not forgive you for this." A furious Mama bear warned Morgan.

She pushed him away from her and walked over to Hotch, and flung her credentials at him.

"I'll save you the need to suspend me, Hotch. We will fly home as soon as Emily feels well enough." JJ just walked off back to Emily.

EJ

Hotch picked JJ's credentials up and stood to speak to her. Rossi grabbed his arm and shook his head to tell him not to.

"Mama bear needs to cool off and make sure Emily is still sound asleep." He turned to Derek "you were warned and, in my opinion, deserved it. You were out of order, and we are all afraid to lose her. She needs to return to normal. Go back to the hotel, and we will start again in the morning. We can't do anything until Garcia has worked her way through everyone." Rossi told the shocked man.

Emily opened her eyes to see JJ still lying next to her

"Hi, sweetheart." Smirked Emily "thank you for helping me through my wobble. It scared the hell out of me. Did I miss anything?": she asked

"Not much," JJ answered a little quick

"Jenifer Jareau Prentiss!" Scolded Emily

" I punched Derek and resigned from the FBI. So not very much." JJ light-heartedly told her wife, waiting for the explosion.

Emily looked her wife in the face and smiled "okay." Smiled Emily. "I'm hungry; let's eat."

The two women walked out onto the patio. Michele had brought out a couple of pizzas and invited Hotch and Rossi to stay for some food. Hotch looked across at JJ and noticed she was not eating much and was not talking too much. He thought she was trying to work up the courage to apologise.

Hotch was unusually wrong. JJ was worried about how badly Emily's cognitive issues had worsened since she attempted Suicide. Because she had spoken too quickly when answering her question, she hadn't processed what she told her. Because she was distracted by Derek, she had missed her answer. As much as this stem cell treatment frighted her, it was rapidly becoming something she thought might be worth giving it a try. Emily couldn't cope if her cognitive issues affected her ability to work successfully.

"Emily!"

She looked at JJ while she was eating

"I punched Derek and resigned from the FBI this afternoon," JJ told her wife clearly and slowly

spitting out her mouthful of pizza "you did what?" JJ thought she'd heard this time

"Guys, can you give us some space, please?" JJ asked Hotch and Rossi

"I want you to try the Stem cell treatment. You are getting worse, sweetheart. I think it's time to try. I can't watch you deteriorate and end up confined to bed without trying….." her emotions got the better of her.

Emily took hold of her wife's hand and smiled.

"Let's make this our last case then. I agree with you things have worsened. We can contact Dr Wilson when we get back to DC. Derek?" Emily told JJ

"I warned them all he deserved it, and I'll apologise in the morning. Then I will go and beg Hotch for my credentials back." JJ sighed

"I only wish I could watch you punch Derek." Smiled Emily

Hotch walked back to the table and handed JJ her Credentials and smiled and passed Emily a thumb drive and pointed to the security cameras around the garden. And just walked away.

"I will see you in the morning, Agent Jareau and Prentiss," he told them as he walked away

EJ

"Than…k….[erm]….. y..ou" Emily managed

"I will be at your side through this. You will need me over the next few months, the guys can handle everything, and Hotch can temporarily replace us. I'm serious now. Rest, and we can catch these UnSubs and go out with a win." Smiled JJ kissing her wife "good night, Emily." JJ smiled at her already sound asleep wife.